


It's Just a Name

by foxonfire0



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: David Acting as Max's (Camp Camp) Parental Figure, Gen, Implied/Referenced child abuse/neglect, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-01-06 17:16:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18392822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxonfire0/pseuds/foxonfire0
Summary: Max's home life finally comes to Camp Campbell, his 'mother', a few of her employee's, including her personal assistant. Max tries his best to disappear but thanks to David, he is forced to do the daily activity with his family. Why are they here? And why is Max trying to avoid this whole situation? David starts to worry about how different Max is acting and is determined to get some answers. Maybe the personal assistant will be willing to open up about Max's home life.





	1. The Start of the Longest Day

"Good morning campers!” exclaimed David as he burst through the mess hall doors. “Who is ready for today-”  
“David!” yelled Gwen who was holding Space Kid high in the air while Nurf was at her feet trying to grab him. Cameron Campbell was in the corner trying to hold Nurf back with a stick, “A little help David!” David ran over to Gwen so that he could help with whatever was going on.

The other campers were spread throughout the mess hall, ignoring the scene happening in the far back corner of the mess hall. On the other side of the mess hall, Neil, Nikki, and Max sat together like usual. Nikki was attempting to get at Neil’s food since she had finished hers a few minutes earlier. Neil, for once, wasn’t going to give her the food.  
“Stop it, Nikki! You can’t have my food today!” yelled Neil  
“But I need more!” Nikki yelled back  
“Go get more!”  
“Quartermaster won’t give me anymore!”  
“Well, I’m eating mine.”  
“Says you!”  
The nearly feral girl continued to reach for the breakfast potatoes, eggs and meat while Neil held her back with one hand. “Max!” he yelled, “A little help!” He looked over to his other friend. Max was frozen in one place; his hand was frozen a few inches away from his face with a spoon full of eggs slowly dropping off of his spoon back onto his tray. His eyes were staring straight ahead, slightly glazed over, and twitching slightly. “Uh, Max?” Neil said as he let go of Nikki causing her to face plant into Neil’s food. She immediately started to shovel food into her face. Nikki looked up, her mouth full of potatoes and eggs, her hands were covered in food, “Max? Are you alright?” she asked food spilling out of her mouth. The nerdy one of the group poked Max’s shoulder. He didn’t react. Neil and Nikki looked at each other and they both gave Max a few more pokes in the arm. Still, no reaction. “David? Gwen?” said Neil. Nikki chimed in, “Something’s wrong with Max.”

David was on the ground now with Nurf sitting on top of him, Cameron was now being held in a headlock by Nurf and Gwen still held Space Kid in the air. The two counselors looked over and saw a frozen in place Max. Gwen dropped Space Kid which got Nurf off of David and caused him to let go of Cameron. The two original counselors walked over to the small group of three. Cameron laid on the ground rubbing his neck. David waved his hand in front of Max’s face, “Uh, Max? Are you alright?” he asked, very concerned about one of his favorite campers. When Max didn’t react, Gwen stepped up and snapped in Max’s face a few times, “Hey. Twerp.” All of a sudden Max hopped up onto the table and grabbed her shirt, “She’s here!" he yelled, " How?! Why?! You need to hide me!” David ripped Max off of Gwen, “Max! What’s wrong? Who’s here?” he asked. The sound of a couple of vehicles finally reached everyone else's ears in the mess hall. All of the campers started to murmur about what was going on. Then they all dashed outside when the sounds got super close. Cameron also got up and followed the kids, “Don’t worry Davey! I can be responsible enough to watch the kids by myself! Or my name isn’t Cameron Cam- Ooof” Nurf ran by and punch him in the stomach. Cameron slowly walked hunched over, outside. Max once again froze when the sound of vehicles squealed to a stop right outside of the eating area. “Mother is here,” he said.


	2. Introductions

Outside of the mess hall, the sound of confused and excited campers grew louder. “I need to hide now!” yelled Max. David kept his grip on the kid as Max attempted to wriggle out, “Now Max. We should go to greet your mother! She’s clearly here to see you! Why else would she be here? She probably misses her little man!” The only people left in the mess hall where David, Gwen, Quartermaster, Nikki, Neil, and Max. “Let go David!” yelled Max, “She’s probably here for something. Probably to make me, someone else, or everyone miserable. She's awful! The worst! Horrible! And that's the nicest things I can say about her!” Nikki and Neil left the building followed by Gwen and Quartermaster. David followed them while still holding onto Max but the 10-year-old wasn’t making it easy for the camp counselor.

Once outside, they saw three vehicles. The closest one to the mess hall was a small, beaten up, two-door, tan, car. It looked like it barely ran and was being held together by tape, nails, and a piece of wood. The next vehicle was a large bus, it was a half-repainted school bus. It was still mostly the original yellow but toward the end were paintings of horses. In the middle of the bus was multiple horseshoe shapes all in different colors. There was an abstract race track wrapping around the bus. In the back of the small caravan was a large black SUV with black tinted windows. Max continued to struggle, trying to get out of David’s hands. “Max?” said Neil, “Does your mom have a thing for horses?”

Cameron rubbed his hands together, “It looks like little Mattie has a little money to his name. Time to turn up the charm and get out of this godforsaken place.” Nobody responded to Cameron. Gwen’s eyes were wide and sparkling, “Do you not know who this bus belongs to?!” Gwen gasped and didn’t wait for anyone to respond, “It belongs to the world renown horse breeder and racer! Her purebred horses can make millions of dollars a day by just existing. She’s also in multiple reality tv shows! She was the Bachelorette about eleven years ago, she was the winner of Big Brother a few years ago, she had a wardrobe malfunction on that one talent show when she was a judge on it last year, and she’s currently the biggest star on the Real Housewives of-”  
Max finally got free from David.  
“Yeah," started the young boy, "and she started her trashy career twenty-five years ago on Maury. It’s all she cares about! So, if I just hide, she will leave sooner and, just maybe, we won't hate ourselves, even more than we already do, at the end of it.” said Max as he turns to leave. Gwen grabs him and holds him in place.  
“No, you don’t you little shit. Put on a good face and maybe I can get a pic with her or even an autograph-“ David and Max both raised their eyebrows at the other camp counselor. Gwen stuttered, “I mean, maybe she will donate some money for the camp?”  Max rolled his eyes and David sighed.  
David shook his head, brushing off what Gwen just said, “Come on Max! That can’t be true! I mean she is here to visit you right?”

Finally, two bodyguards emerge from the black SUV that was behind the bus. They stood in front of the bus doors. Then two people step out of the beat-up car upfront. One was a woman, in her mid-twenties, her skin was a little lighter than Max's. She carried a clipboard that had way too many papers on it. She was wearing a pastel green button up blouse, a white skirt and brown mary jane heels. Her black hair was pulled back into a messy bun on top of her head and had a pen holding it up.  The other person that stepped out of the same car was an older man, about a head shorter than the girl, he wore a dark blue jumpsuit with a pair of bright yellow boots with a matching baseball cap. The two stood in front of the bodyguards.

“Hello everyone!” said the girl way too cheery and waved one hand while the other pushed the clipboard against her chest, “My name is Layla-Rae. I am Max’s mother's personal assistant. And this,” she points to the man next to her, “Is Mr. Walter. He takes care of the general needs of the horses.” Mr. Walter grunted but didn’t add anything to the speech. Layla-Rae sighed and her smile faltered a bit but she went back to her overly cheery smile and tone as she continued her speech, “She brought 5 of her best horses here today to show you all! Any questions from anyone before I introduce her?” Almost everyone, except for Max, raised their hand, “Great! Now introducing the award-winning actress, and the world renown horse breeder, Max’s mother, Ms. Devi.”

Layla-Rae and Mr. Walter step to the side as a very tall woman comes out of the bus, followed by one large white horse. The woman shared the same sunshade colored skin as Max, as well as the black hair. Her hair was straight and was long enough to touch her waist. The horse next to her was pure white, just as tall as Devi and very muscular. Four other horses stick their heads out of the bus windows. Devi wore a hot pink t-shirt with black skinny jeans and a pair of knee-high hot pink platform shoes, making her another two or three inches taller. “Hello everyone! I am little Maximiliano’s mother or you may also know me as Devi! The star of multiple reality shows!” she said raising her hands up in the air, showing off her black bangles on her left hand and her hot pink bejeweled phone in her right hand. None of the campers say anything. Layla-Rae pulls out a sheet of paper from her pile of papers and showed it to everyone. It said  _ **APPLAUD PLEASE**_ in large bold black letters _._ The campers clap slowly. Devi starts to bow. Layla-Rae steps forward “The campers can continue on with their day. Devi would like to meet with a counselor to plan her visit. That is if it isn’t inconvenient at all.”  Gwen steps forward and starts to wave her hand wildly, “I can help! It's not an inconvenience at all!” Devi looks at her and snaps her fingers, “You’re spunky. I like that! Let’s go!” Gwen lets out a little squeal and leads Devi into the mess hall and the bodyguards split up. One stayed by the bus the other went to the mess hall doors and stood in front of them.

Mr. Walter heads into the bus and starts to lead the horses out. The campers all start to disperse except for Max, Nikki, and Neil. David walks over to Layla-Rae, “While they plan out the day could I interest you in a tour of the campgrounds?” he asked.   
She smiled “I would love to!”   
David smiled, “I’m David by the way. A camp counselor! And a previous Camp Campbell camper myself!”   
Layla-Rae laughs, “It seems like you really enjoy being at Camp Campbell! I like someone who does what they love!” Max’s eye starts to twitch.   
“We can start the tour over at the tents,” said David as he started to walk, “Mr. Campbell could you watch the kids at the activity stations?” Cameron rolled his eyes, mumbled something and walked slowly toward the large group of kids. Layla-Rae looks over to Max, “C’mon Max. You can update me on what’s been going on at camp and you can introduce me to your friends!”   
Max crossed his arms and shook his head, “No thanks. I’m going to hang out somewhere else. Away from all of this. Come on guys,” says Max as he walks toward the lake. Nikki and Neil follow closely behind. Layla-Rae shrugged and David let out an awkward sigh, "I'm sorry about that. He seems to be a bit upset that you guys are here for some reason."   
The assistant nodded with a concerned look on her face, "I know." There was a moment of silence before Layla-Rae plastered a fake smile on her face, "Let's start that tour!"   
David tried to return the smile but his face was mixed with concern and curiosity, "Okay. The tents are this way!"


	3. The Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David takes Layla-Rae for a tour of the camp. Some secrets come out in the process.

David and Layla-Rae walked through the small campsite, “This is where the camper's tents are! They all have a tent buddy! The councilor cabin is over there!”   
The black haired girl looked over the tents, “This is awesome! I used to help Max camp in the backyard at home! He loved it!”   
A loud squealed escaped David's mouth and he balled up his hands, “Really?! Max never said anything about that!”   
“Yeah. I imagine he doesn’t talk about home a lot,” said Layla-Rae as she finally let out a genuine smile.   
David stopped and looked at the assistant, “He doesn’t. He mostly talks about how much he hates it here.”   
A heavy sigh came out of Layla-Rae as she nodded, “Of course. Devi forces Max to be private about home and is very strict about what he says. It needs to be approved first by Devi then the PR team. But please don’t get discouraged with him. He likes it here. Even though he won’t admit it. But I don't think _you_ will ever be able to get him to admit how much he likes being here.”   
David and Layla-Rae continued to the next section of the camp. “If you don’t mind me asking,” started David, “If Max doesn’t mind being here, why does he say he hates it so much? He acts like he hates everyone and everything and seems to take it out on Gwen and I the most.”   
Layla shrugged, “He wasn’t always like that. Just the past few years have been, more than, a little hard on him. It turned him into a little ball of hatred.” David still had a concerned look on his face. It took a couple of seconds but Layla-Rae finally realized why he was concerned, “Don’t worry! There’s no abuse or anything going on. Well- I guess- Never mind.” David’s concerned look continued, “Layla-Rae," he said as he put his hand on her shoulder, "if something bad is happening you can let me know,” he offered. Layla-Rae looked at the ground and didn’t answer. David dropped his hand and continued to walk in silence.

David finally broke the silence, “What is Max like at home?” Layla-Rae raised an eyebrow and a corner of her mouth turned up. The camp counselor held up his hands, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry. I was just trying to keep the conversation going!” Layla-Rae laughed, her full bright, genuine smile returned.  
“He acts just like he does here,” she paused and thought for a moment, “Angry, pessimistic, troublemaker. But he’s also thoughtful and caring when no one is looking anyway. I'm sure he's showed that a little bit.” She sighed her bright smile go away again, “I’ve tried to make him less pessimistic by trying to see the bright side of everything. But he usually shoots it down.”  Layla-Rae laughed and David joined in, “Well,” said David, “I do the same thing! Everything has a bright side!” The black-haired girl smiled, “Well, that’s probably why he takes stuff out on you a lot! You remind him of me!”

 The couple stopped next to the activity field. David gestured his hand across the somewhat large area where most of the campers were currently hanging out, “This is the activity field. Where the activities for all the different campers are except for the amphitheater! That's in the next clearing!” He then pointed over to Cameron Campbell who was, kind of, watching over the campers. “That is Mr. Campbell. He is the founder of this camp before he put me in charge. Then sold the camp. Then got the camp back. Now he’s here for his several hours of community service!” Layla-Rae gave David a very concerned look. “Oh! Don’t worry,” said David recognizing the look he was getting, “He turned himself in for his crimes hoping to better himself!” Layla-Rae still looked skeptical, “Alright, I guess you are here constantly. I trust you,” she said as she waved to Cameron who was waving back.

“Alright on to the next!” said David as he continued to walk to the next section of the camp. “So,” started Layla-Rae, “Does Max have any friends here?”   
David nodded vigorously, “Yes! Nikki and Neil are probably his best friends. In fact, he gets along with just about everyone here!”   
Layla-Rae's face glowed as she smiled, “That gives me so much relief.”   
“Why? Does he not have friends back home?” he asked as confusion washed over his face.   
“Not really," she said as she shook her head, "He is homeschooled. So, he doesn’t really get out of the house a lot. So not only am I Devi’s assistant, but I’m also Max’s nanny, tutor, and the only person he can really talk to back home. Devi scares the other workers at the house. So they will just drop off laundry, food, and other things off then leave. They don't talk to him. He spends most of his days at home in rooms by himself.” They walked in silence for a few minutes.   
“I know this sounds a little mean but why did Devi come here?” asked David.   
The assistant shrugged, "That's not mean. Trust me. She said she wanted to be here for parent’s day.”

The two over to the lake where Neil, Nikki, and Max were. “Really?” asked David, “That was weeks ago.”   
Layla-Rae nodded, “I know. I told her that when she said we were coming here. She just brushed it off and said we were coming here anyway.” She paused for a moment, “I think she’s here for something or she’s here to make a point. I know that sounds a bit crazy. But back home she’s a…lets say, an unemotional person,” Layla-Rae paused to gather a few thoughts, “She doesn’t call Max by his name. She has called him every name in the book but refuses to call him his actual name. Then anytime someone tries to bring up the fact that his name isn’t whatever she said, she just brushes it off and says ‘It’s just a name. It doesn't matter. He responds anyway’. I mean, how would you feel if a family member just makes up new names for you.” Layla-Rae cleared her throat and her face flushed, “I’m sorry for rambling. I didn’t mean to vent.”   
David shook his head, “It’s fine Layla-Rae! I’m a great listener! I can tell you’re frustrated. It all sounds like a lot to deal with.” The group of friends by the lake didn’t notice them so David and Layla-Rae carried on. “Oh!” exclaimed David, “Before I forget. Max’s registration paper is incomplete. We need to get that filled out once we get back.”   
Layla-Rae nodded, “Yeah, I know. I will get that filled out and back to you as soon as I can. I feel like it’s my fault anyway.”

David gave her a surprised look, “Really?” he asked, “Max was pretty sure it was his parents not caring. And you seem like the most caring person in the world!”   
Layla-Rae smiled, “First of all, you are the most caring person in the world. Anyone who has the patience to spend their summers with some difficult children and not gives up on them, especially my Max, has my respect and deserves my eternal gratitude. I also owe you dinner or something. It sounds like Max puts you through a lot.” David smiled and blushed, “Second, I’m the one who fills out Ms. Devi’s paperwork. I don’t think she’s actually written anything in years. Max told me that Devi was making him go to summer camp and that she actually did the paperwork. I guess there was a recruiting booth outside of a stupidly overly priced clothing store Devi dragged him to.” Layla-Rae sighed, “When Max told me, he said that she didn’t even fill out the entire paper. He was so upset that he saw how little Devi cared. I mean, he always knew but it's different when you watch them actually not care. And before I dropped him off for camp, he kept saying he was being forced here so that no one has to deal with him. He was so upset, I know he is going to kill me for saying this but he did start to cry in the car,” Layla-Rae sighed, “but, even though he won’t admit it, he’d much rather be at a camp than at the house.” Layla-Rae rubbed her forehead, “I should’ve been there with him and Devi. I could’ve at least gotten the paperwork fully filled out. Maybe that would’ve made him a little happier.”

David continued to be quiet as the assistant let more information out about Max's home life. As they started to walk back to the mess hall, Layla-Rae stopped and looked around, “I’ll tell you," she said.   
The council stopped and looked at the woman, "What?" he asked  
Layla-Rae took a deep breath, "I'll tell you about what's going on at home. Max needs more people to know what's going on. I can only do so much. I'm just one person in his life. And I can't be there for him all summer. Maybe if you knew what was going on, you could help him. At least a little bit." David didn't react or say anything. Layla-Rae continued, "But we should wait until Ms. Devi does whatever activity she plans on doing. You know?”   
David nodded, “I understand. I do really want to help... and maybe hear stories about happy little Max.” They both laughed a little.  
“If we have time, I’ll tell you stories about happy Max,” said Layla-Rae, “But I feel like he might hate me if I tell anything too embarrassing.” Layla-Rae and David laughed again. The two continued to walk

After a few minutes, they were now outside of the mess hall. Layla-Rae let her genuine smile show again, “Thank you so much for the tour! It’s nice to hang out and not talk about horses for once. Or reality TV. Or the newest drama.”   
David laughed, “No problem! I will happily take you out again!” Layla-Rae raised up her eyebrow and crossed her arms. David stuttered a little bit, “I just mean I will happily take you to show around camp again.”  
Layla-Rae nodded and her smile grew bigger, “I know. I just wanted to give you a little bit of a hard time.”  
David laughed, “You definitely hang around Max too much or maybe he hangs around you too much!” They both laughed.  
Layla-Rae cleared her throat her voice going a little bit lower and quieter so that the bodyguard can't hear her, “Hey David?” she started, “Can you not mention what we talked about to Ms. Devi? Or Max for right now? I’ll explain later.”   
David nodded, “Of course Layla-Rae.”   
She smiled, “You can just call me Layla.”   
David smiled back, “Of course Layla.”


	4. A Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen meets with Devi to talk about a change in camp activities while she is here.

Gwen and Devi walked into the mess hall followed by the white muscular horse. “Can I get you anything, Ms. Devi? Water? Soda? Juice? Something to eat?” asked Gwen quickly.   
Devi raised her hand, shook her head and smiled sweetly, “No thanks, Gwen. And you’re one of my fans just call me Devi.”   
A squeal escaped from Gwen, "Alright Devi!” Gwen cleared her throat and tried to calm her excitement down, “Alright you wanted to talk about your visit?” Devi and Gwen sat down at a table near the doors to the mess hall.   
Devi nodded, “Yes. I would like to let your campers ride my horses!”  
The counselor thought for a minute, “None of the campers have experiences with horses,” she paused, “well… no, I’m pretty sure that none of them have even been around horses. I still think Nikki might have been raised by wild horses, maybe wild dogs, but I don’t think-”   
The older woman waved her hand, “Yeah, yeah, they will be on the best-trained horses in the world and be around me. And you’ll be riding along too! Maddox would love to get out and spend some time running around,” she pointed to the white muscular horse, “I know he loves the boy and misses him so much!”

Gwen nodded, “Alright. I do think Campbell has some fences that we can put up so the kids aren’t riding the horses in the open. Especially Nurf, Nikki, Max,” Gwen snapped her fingers, “Before I forget. I need to talk to you about Max’s paperwork. Hold on one second. I need to go grab it from the cabin.”   
Devi smiled, “Take your time,” she said.   
Gwen nodded frantically and ran to the counselor cabin. She quickly searched through the messy drawer where they keep the camper’s registration papers. It took a few minutes but she eventually found the sheet of paper with Max’s name and age on it. Gwen ran back to the mess hall and burst through the door. She was out of breath as she sat back down across Devi. “Max’s registration only has his name and age. We need his registration paper fully filled out. It’s missing some info.” Gwen handed the sheet of paper to Devi, who took it and skimmed over the sheet of paper.   
Devi cleared her throat, “Yes, well, I’ll have my assistant finish this,” she paused, “You’ve known him for a while now, what would you suggest for his camp? Besides military camp?” Devi laughed. Gwen chuckled a little then said sarcastically, “Attitude awareness might be top of the list.” Gwen chuckled a bit more at her own words. Devi laughed a little too hard at Gwen's statement.

“Oh, I’m glad he doesn’t just act out at home,” said Devi.   
Gwen had confusion take over her face, “Max acts out at home too?”   
“Unfortunately yes. There have been many schools, daycares, and camps that he has been kicked out of. And many nanny’s and butler’s that have quit because of his behavior. Always acting out. He’s caused me so much stress. Luckily my assistant doubles as a nanny and she’s staying around for now,” Devi looked down at the table and sighed heavily.   
The counselor thought for a second, “What does he do at home if you don’t mind me asking.”   
Devi let out a laugh, “Everything. He’s always out of control. I'm sure you know,” she waved her hand as if dismissing the subject. “He hasn’t been kicked out of here yet. So, I imagine what he does here is very mild compared to what he does at home.” Devi wiped a tear from her eye.   
Gwen thought for a moment, “I didn’t think he was _that_ bad. I know he can be a little shit sometimes but he is really a thoughtful boy when he wants to be. He’s made a lot of friends.”   
Devi laughed, “Are you sure you’re talking about the same child? The boy has never made friends.”

Gwen had a slightly confused look on her face when David pushed through the mess hall doors followed by Layla-Rae, “I hope you got everything sorted! I’m about to call everyone for lunch,” he said in his overly cheerily voice.   
Gwen stood up, “I can do it, David. If you wanted to help Quartermaster setup.”   
David gave Gwen a confused look but then smiled, “Alrighty Gwen!” He then walked over to the kitchen where Quartermaster was.   
Layla-Rae looked over at Devi, “Ms. Devi would you like to talk about today’s activities and schedule changes?” she asked.   
Devi was tapping away on her phone, “Talk about it with the counselors. I will be going outside to the bus. Let me know when the _darling_ little angels are ready.”   
Layla-Rae cleared her throat, “But, ma’am, don’t you want to eat lunch with Max? Or even say 'hello' to him? You haven't seen him for many weeks,” she said as her jaw set.

Devi laughed slightly and stood up, “I’ve got some things to deal with over the phone and on the bus. If Matt needs me for something,” Devi got close to her assistant shoving Max’s camp registration paper at her, “you deal with it. I only hired you so that I didn't need to deal with Matthew.”   
Layla-Rae was grinding her teeth. She took the sheet of paper and added it to the pile of papers on her clipboard, “His name is Max,” she said through her teeth.   
Devi smiled and walked to the mess hall doors. “Whatever. It's just a name, girl. I can get rid of you anytime I want. Remember that next time you try to open your mouth. Or I will make your life and his life even more miserable than it already is.” With that, she walked through the doors leaving Layla-Rae alone.   
After a few minutes, David peaked through the kitchen door, “I hope you’re hungry Layla! Quartermaster made extra!”   
She turned around to look at David with an overly cheerful smile on her face, hoping that he doesn't notice her eyes watering, “That sounds amazing David! Is there anything I can do to help?”   
David nodded quickly, “Of course! I’m always open for some help! Especially if that person is helping is you!”   
Quartermaster came up behind David while string a big pot of mashed potatoes, “Your flirting makes me sick,” said the old man. He then turned around and went back to the stove. David face reddened as Layla-Rae giggled.


	5. Lakeside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max, Nikki, and Neil spend their free time by the lake.

Max, Nikki, and Neil got to the lake after a few minutes of walking. “So,” asked Neil, “Your mom is… interesting?” Max shrugged.  “Got it,” said Neil, “We will pretend that your mother doesn’t exist. What would do you guys want to do?”   
Nikki jumped ahead of them, “We could look for a lake monster! Or fight a shark! Or wrestle with crabs!”   
Neil sighed, “There’s no way any of those things are in this lake. I don’t think this lake could sustain any life in it at all.”   
The green haired girl punched Neil’s arm, “You never know if you don’t look!”   
The nerdy kid rubbed the spot that was just hit, “Well there are a few ingredients I need to make a few more potions. If you’d like to be my test subject again, Nikki.”   
She jumped wildly, “Make me into a bear! No, a hawk! No! No! No! Give me another arm!” The two started to look through the brush near the lake for items that Neil needs.

Max was standing back letting his two friends do all of the work. He looked at the ground and was kicking sand as he walked up and down the small lake beach. During one of his kicks, he felt his foot kick something a little more solid. He looked at the ground and saw a red speck peeking through the sand. He kneeled down and dug up a small rock. It a reddish pink with black and white specks all over it. He turned it over in his hand multiple times.  Neil saw that Max had a rock in his hand and walked over, “What’s that?” he asked. Max snapped out of the daze he was in and dropped the rock.   
He shrugged, “I don’t know some weird rock. I thought it might’ve been worth something”   
Neil picked it up and looked at it. “It looks like granite. Must have been pushed ashore by the lake”   
Nikki ran over and stole it from the nerdy kid’s hand, “I bet this would make a good splash.”   
Max perked up, “Or you could, I don’t know, just leave it? Maybe someone will want it.”   
Right, when Max ended his sentence Nikki chucked the rock into the lake.   
The black-haired child’s eyes went wide, “Nikki! What if I- I mean what if someone else wanted the rock!”   
His two friends stared at him with wide eyes, never really hearing Max burst out in anger like this. “Chill Max it’s just a rock,” she said.   
Neil nodded in agreement, “Yeah. I bet there’s plenty more in the sand.”   
Frustrated, Max threw his hands up in the air, “Whatever. Just forget it. What did you need Neil?”

Neil looked over to the pile of things that he and Nikki already gathered, “I’m pretty sure I have everything so we can head to the camp’s activity station.” Nikki and Neil scooped up the items on the ground. They turned around to see if Max was following but they saw that Max walked to the edge of the lake and was just looking out to where the rock made a splash. Neil and Nikki looked at each other. “We are headed back Max are you coming with?” asked Neil. Max didn’t say anything and the two shrugged and started to walk back without their friend. “Come and join us anytime Max. I’ll have plenty of things for Nikki to drink,” yelled Neil ask he continued to walk. Nikki dropped all of the things she was carrying, threw her hands in the air and yelled, “Whoo!”   
Neil sighed and said, “Nikki! Be careful!”

It didn't take long for Neil and Nikki's voices to disappear in the distance. Max continued to look out to the lake for a few more minutes, “Fuck it!” he yelled. He took off his blue hoodie and his shoes and dove into the lake. He occasionally came back up for air. After a few minutes of diving down and coming back up, he finally swam back to the beach and put the small granite rock on top of his sweater. Max collapsed next to his hoodie and laid on his back. He stared at the clear blue sky for a little bit before deciding that he could take a quick nap.

About a half hour later Max was jolted awake by Gwen yelling through a megaphone, calling from the mess hall for lunch for everyone. Max rubbed his eyes and put on his hoodie. He shoved the small rock into his hoodie pocket then started to walk slowly back to the Mess hall. When he got there Devi was out front pacing back and forth while tapping on her phone, while also giving orders to her security and Mr. Walter. She looked up and saw the little kid walking toward her, “Hi Mateo! It’s nice to see you! It’s been so long everyone is inside,” she said looking back down at her phone and continued to tap on it. The two security guard and Mr. Walter walked away. Max ignored her and continued to walk to the mess hall. “Matthew don’t you dare ignore me! Or I’m not going to let you ride the horses this afternoon with the rest of your friends.”

Max stopped and looked at her, “Devi. Read my lips,” started, anger dripping from his words, “I. Hate. The. Fucking. Horses,” he said making eye contact with her, “In fact, I hate you! I hate everything you do! And stop pretending to fucking care about me!”   
Devi rolled her eyes and placed a hand against her chest, “Of course I care! I’m the one paying for you aren’t I!”   
Max crossed his arms, “Really? Then what’s my name?” he asked, “So far you called me Maximiliano, Mateo, and Matthew. And that was just today! None of those are right!”   
Devi rolled her eyes, “It’s just a name. Get over it. Besides you respond anyway. Let’s not make a scene. The other campers and counselors might think you really misbehaved. Then they will finally see how hard _I_ have it. Go eat lunch.” She went back to tapping on her phone. Max rolled his eyes and started to stomp toward the mess hall doors. “Oh, and Matthias?” started Devi. Against his better judgment, Max stopped and looked behind him. She put one hand on her waist and looked down at Max, “Do not fucking mess with _my_ visit. You remember what happens when you misbehave. Right. Do you understand me?”   
Max gulped, “Yes Mother.” He hesitated for a second and headed into the mess hall.


	6. Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max has lunch and finally gets to speak with Devi's assistant, Layla-Rae.

Max walked into the mess hall and saw all of his fellow campers sitting at their respective tables. Even Nikki and Neil were at their usual spot. He headed up front to get his tray and food and saw Layla-Rae talking to David, Gwen, and Cameron in the corner. The young boy grabbed a tray of food and headed over to Neil and Nikki. His two friends gave him concerned looks but didn’t ask what happened, he wouldn’t say anything anyway. Neil and Nikki filled Max in on the experiments that Neil ran on their green-haired friend. But he wasn’t paying that close attention to the conversation, just paying enough attention to add in ‘sure’, ‘uh-hu’ and ‘cool’ when appropriate. Gwen clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Today we did have other activities planned,” she started, “But due to our special guest- Nurf! Put Dolph down!” Gwen pointed a finger at Nurf who had Dolph in the air ready to throw. After the bully finally put his pray back down on the bench next to him, Gwen continued, “Since we have a special guest who has offered her horses for today. We have decided that we will have you guys go horseback riding!” There were a few ‘cools’ and excited murmurs but most of the campers didn’t care. Max just rolled his eyes and poked at his food on his tray. Gwen continued with her announcement, “The horseback riding will take place in an enclosed area so SOME people don’t get out of control or run off with the horse. We will start the activity this afternoon. So, in about 30 minutes. So, once you are done eating you will have a few minutes for free time but then we will all meet at the activity area.” Max had tuned out Gwen at this point, trying to think of a way to get out of the activity.

Nikki poked Max in the forehead, “Earth to Max,” she said.   
The boy shook his head, “What do you want Nikki?”  
“Neil and I are going back down to the activity field. Are you coming?”  
“What for?”  
“Neil said he needed to put away some of his experiments so that none of them ‘explode’ or ‘get tainted’ or ‘advance global warming’ whatever that means”  
Max shrugged, “Nah. I think I’ll just stay here for now. I’ll meet up with you guys soon.”   
Neil raised an eyebrow at Max, “Alright. If you need us for anything you know where we will be,” he said.   
The black haired boy once again shrugged, “I’m fine. I’ll see you guys soon.” The two friends left the table, dumped their trays and headed out. All the other campers were also filling out.

Layla-Rae excused herself from the conversation between her and the councilors and walked over to Max. She sat down across from him but Max didn’t look up. “Hiya Max!” she said in her overly cheery voice. Max glanced up and lifted an eyebrow at the woman, which caused Layla-Rae to smile brightly which then caused the corners of Max’s mouth to twitch. “How has camp been going? Anything new?” she asked folding her hand on top of her clipboard.   
Max sighed and rolled his eyes, “Nope. Nothing new. I’ve been a perfect little angel. Like I always am.”   
His very sarcastic sentence caused Layla-Rae to let out a small chuckle. “I heard that isn’t a hundred percent true,” she said, “But I’ll believe you this time.”   
This time Max’s mouth revealed a half smile which he quickly hid again. He looked up to the woman, “Why is Devi here? To torture me throughout the summer? Or did she just fine more name’s that begin with ‘M’ so she could continue to try and guess my name.”   
Layla-Rae leaned back and stretched her hands behind her back, “She found the letter about ‘Parents Day’” the child rolled his eyes. Layla-Rae continued, “Specifically she dug through my entire living space because she was convinced that I was hiding something from her,” she leaned forward, “I was hiding that Parent’s Day information. I planned on coming. I even asked for that entire weekend off to make it seem like I had a lot of plans! Like a concert or something but once she found out what my plans where-“   
Max frowned, “Let me guess,” he said, “She ‘all of a sudden’ had a million plans out of state that you needed to be there for.”

Layla-Rae nodded, “Like usual,” her eyes softened and she reached out and touched Max’s hand, “I’m sorry I didn’t show up. I tried.”   
Max shrugged and put on his best poker face, “It doesn’t matter. It was a stupid day anyway.”   
Her mouth curved into a smile, “I’m still sorry. Even if you don’t care.” There was a moment of silence between the two. Layla-Rae broke the short silence, “So,” she said smiling, “Find any cool rocks here?” Max’s head shot up and dropped his fork. He quickly stuck his hands in his pocket and pulled out the small rock he found. Then he leaned forward a little and lowered his voice so that no one could hear, “There’s a whole bunch of granite rocks under the lake. They’re just eroding there. I think I also saw some geodes down there.” Max looked at the rock in his hand, “This one looked the best though,” he held it for Layla-Rae to take and his voice went back to normal volume, “Here you go.”   
She smiled and took the rock. “I’m glad you found something fun to do. Even if you don’t have an activity,” said Layla-Rae as she placed the rock on top of her clipboard.   
He once again shrugged, “It doesn’t matter. I spend most of my time fucking with David. So, Camp could be worse. It’s better than being at home anyway.”   
Layla-Rae nodded, “Hey, language please, but I’ll trade. You can be Devi’s assistant and I’ll stay here.”

Max wrinkled his nose and went back to poking at his mashed potatoes with his fork, “Hell no.”   
The assistant let out a fake pout, “Fine.” The two sat in silence again.   
He dropped his fork suddenly and looked up at Layla-Rae, “Are you coming down to watch the fuc-, I mean, stupid horse rides?”   
Layla-Rae shook her head, “No I’ll be staying here with David.”   
Max nodded and leaned forward so that he could speak quietly, “Mr. Honeynuts has a rip. Can you sew him up please?” he asked making sure that no one was sneaking around to hear them.   
The woman nodded, “Of course I can! Just give him to me before you leave for those stupid horse rides and I’ll have him ready and back in your tent before you get back.”  Max jumped down off the table and ran to the doors.   
“Are you done eating?” yelled Layla-Rae as Max ran to the doors.   
“Yeah,” he yelled as he ran out of mess hall to his tent. The black-haired girl got up and took his tray to the back to empty it.   
David walked up to her, “What was that all about?” he asked.   
She shrugged, “Nothing noteworthy. On a possibly unrelated note do you have a needle and thread?”


	7. A Reveal

The ten-year-old ran as fast as his short legs could take him to his tent. He got to his tent, grabbed Mr. Honeynuts off of his cot, then stuck his head out of the tent. No one was around but just in case Max shoved his precious bear under his sweatshirt and proceeded to run back to the mess hall. Once he got there, he saw some of his fellow campers already gathering for the horseback riding activity. Luckily, Layla-Rae was outside by the mess hall. He snuck over to her and bumped her knee with his elbow. She kneeled down and brought her clipboard up to block Max as he handed her the bear. The black haired assistant kept the bear hidden between her and her clipboard.

After a few minutes, all of the campers were gathered in front of the mess hall. Max spotted Nikki and Neal. He started to walk toward his friends but Layla-Rae grabbed his shoulder and whispered, “Don’t cause _too_ much trouble,” she said with a wink. Max smirked but didn’t say anything. He joined up with Nikki and Neil as Devi came out of her bus again. Gwen stepped in front of the small group, “Okay,” she said as she clapped getting everyone’s attention, “So, it looks like a storm is headed toward us. It will be here in a couple of hours. In the meantime, we will be going down near the activity stations where Campbell, David and I set up a fenced-in area where you will be riding the horses. You will all be going five or six at a time until it starts to rain or until dinner. Whatever comes first. David will be staying here at the mess hall watching the storm. He will warn us when it is close. Let's head down there now.” Campbell and Gwen led the way, followed by Devi then all the campers. Max, Nikki, and Neil were in the back slowly walking.   
“So,” asked Neil quietly, “You’re not going to try anything, are you, Max? I know horses can be startled easily and-“   
Max rolled his eyes, “Why in the world would I cause any trouble to ruin mother’s visit?” he said very sarcastically. Before Neil could say anything else, they arrived at the small, blocked off area. Devi started to explain how to get on a horse, how to steer, how to speed up and slow down. Max, once again rolled his eyes, then walked to a nearby tree and sat underneath it, he pulled out David’s pink cell phone and started to scroll through all of the apps on the phone.

Back at the mess hall, Layla-Rae was sitting at a table inside slowly stitching up Max’s poor worn out bear with dark green thread. David stumbled through the mess hall doors carrying an old radio. Layla-Rae looked up and wrinkled her nose at the radio, “Why do you have that?” she asked turning back to the stitch she was on.   
The camp counselor dropped the radio on the table next to Layla-Rae, “I need to keep an eye on the weather, that way I can let Gwen know when the storm will hit,” he said as he started to switch through channels on the radio.   
“Don’t you have a phone to watch the weather on?” she asked.  
David nodded “Yeah but I have no idea where it is at. Max probably has it!”   
Layla-Rae smiled brightly and laughed, “That doesn’t surprise me.” Layla-Rae continued to stitch the bear.   
They sat in silence for a few minutes before David got rid of the smile on his face and spoke, “You said you were going to tell me about Max’s home life? If you're still up to talk about it, anyway.”

Layla-Rae tied a knot at the end of the stitch she just finished then looked over the bear just to make sure it was all sealed up. “Yeah, it is," she paused, "let me begin by saying that Max is not physically abused,” a look of relief washed over David’s face, “he is purposely _neglected_ by Devi.” David had a look of confusion and concern on his face. Layla-Rae sighed, “Devi keeps him emotionally and socially neglected. Friends are not allowed. Outside contact is limited and monitored. He is strictly homeschooled. Max’s room is design specifically for the press. He’s not allowed to touch anything in there. He’s only allowed outside of the house with Devi. Then she will lie about everything. According to the press, Max is just a troubled child. She says he’s been kicked out of school, many of her staff have quit because of Max, and just stuff like that. She says that he brings so much stress to _her_.” Layla-Rae waved Mr. Honeynuts in the air, “This is the only constant, personal thing he has. I gave him this bear the year he turned three when I got my first paycheck from my first job and had extra money after paying bills. It’s really the only thing that Max has that he likes.” Layla-Rae looked over the bear again, “Devi has tried to throw this bear out so many times because she didn’t approve of it.” The woman sighed, “I try my best to get him away from Devi. That's why we go camping in the backyard." Layla-Rae's jaw set, "I’m the one responsible for him. I make sure he eats right, has clothes he likes to wear, I homeschool him and I play games with him. But the minute Devi catches him showing me any affection-" she sighed and shook her head, "I’m the only consistent thing in his life. I may have missed a year and a half of his life, and I will be the first to admit that I’ve made plenty of stupid and life-changing mistakes but I will make sure that he doesn’t get _that_ fucked up,” David had stopped changing the stations on the radio and was just listening to Layla-Rae.

“So,” David started, “Why does she do all that?”   
Layla-Rae shrugged, “I’m pretty sure that it’s all my fault. Every time that Max showed any affection toward me, whether it be a hug or even a ‘thank you’ Devi separates us for weeks, sometimes months. And every time I get to see him again, after being separated, he always seems exhausted and distant. I should’ve just taken him away from Devi years ago. It has gotten worse in the last year when Devi went through a bad divorce. Her ex-husband was a good buffer between her and Max.” Layla-Rae was getting exhausted just talking about it.   
David placed his hand on Layla-Rae’s hand. “It’s not your fault,” said David giving a soft smile to the woman across from him.   
Layla-Rae looked up at him, “What do you mean?” she asked, “I could be doing much more. I should’ve taken him away from all of Devi’s drama. I should've taken him away years ago.”   
David shrugged, “Devi’s the issue, and you’re still there. You are a constant thing in his life. Even if you don't feel like it,” he said, “You’re doing everything in your power to make sure Max has a semi-normal childhood. I know it’s not easy. But I think you’re doing a great job with Max.”   
Layla-Rae and David smiled at each other, “Thank you. That means a whole lot to me,” said Layla-Rae. A few moments went by before they noticed that they were still holding hands. They both blushed. The woman coughed, “I’m going to run Mr. Honeynuts back to Max’s tent. I’ll be right back.”

It only took a few minutes for Layla-Rae to run there and back. She went through the mess hall doors and saw David still messing with the radio and still getting static, “I think the storm is causing that static. It also might get here a bit sooner than expected.”   
David looked up, “How can you tell?”   
Layla-Rae smiled, “I have a degree in environmental sciences! I specialized in Meteorology.”   
The counselor's eyes sparkled, “That’s amazing! So, I'm guessing that's why you take Max backyard camping?”   
“Yep!" she said nodding, "I take him out and teach him all sorts of nature stuff. Weirdly, Max's favorite stuff to learn about is geology,” The black-haired girl’s voice was very cheery, "He always ignores my comments about weather patterns. He always asks me about rocks though."   
David’s eyes still sparkled, “I didn't know that! So, does he like anything else about nature?”   
She shook her head, “Nope. Just rocks. He has a collection of them at home in the backyard. He gives his favorite ones to me though so I can keep them somewhere safe.” David has now left the radio and was sitting across from Layla-Rae. The assistant's face brightened, “Here,” she said pulling out her phone and bringing up the radar for their area, “Now you don’t need to worry about that radio!”   
David sighed in relief, “Thank you, Layla!” They where both quiet for a few seconds, “So what else do you like to do in your spare time?”   
Layla-Rae smiled, "I haven't been asked that type of question in years. I guess it was the last time I went on a date!"   
“I guess we are on a date now! I mean if it isn't creepy- I guess- I'm sorry, I'm making this weird probably. I'll just go." He stood up to leave but Layla-Rae grabbed his hand.   
“You aren't making this weird, David. So sit down. I take it you don't go out on many dates?"   
David sat down again and nodded, "Yeah. I just started actively dating pretty recently. And my last relationship didn't end that well."  
"Please, a guy like you? I don't see how a relationship with you would've ended so bad! It probably ended better than my last relationship!"  
"Well, I do consider myself a hopeless romantic," The redhead tugged at the yellow shirt around his neck, "But, uh, It ended- Well- I kind of, hit my ex's new significant other with a chair... at a bar..."  
Layla-Rae stared at him for a little bit before bursting out laughing, "No way! I would never think someone like you would do that!" She paused and smiled at him and saw how nervous he was talking about that, "Now if you think  _that's_ bad. My last relationship- now keep in mind my last relationship ended about 7 years ago now- but anyway...."


	8. Lost

The sky was a dark gray now. Max continued to tap away on David’s phone. The red battery light blinked in the upper corner of the phone.   
“Max!” yelled Nikki as she ran up to her friend, “Come on! I’m next!” Max rolled his eyes and shoved the phone into his pocket  
“Why do I need to be there?”   
Nikki laughed and slapped his shoulder, “To witness me!” she yelled as she grabbed Max by the arm and dragged him to the other campers. Nikki pushed him to the front, right next to the fence that was keeping the horses contained. Gwen helped Nerris off of a brown horse. She turned around, “Okay, Nikki, you’re next,” she said. Nikki jumped over the fence and crawled up Gwen. Then jumped onto the horse. The horse joined the other horses and started to walk around the fenced off area. Cameron Campbell was talking to Mr. Walter and Devi, who was sitting on her white horse, Maddox. Devi pointed toward Max and Cameron nodded and he started to walk over. Max tried to back up but the group of campers behind him didn’t let him through. Eventually, the founder of Camp Campbell got over to Max, “Alright Mack. It is your turn to go on the horse.”   
Max rolled his eyes, “Nah. I’ll pass.” Cameron picked up Max  
“No no, everyone should get a turn.” He walked around the fence and put the small boy on top of the horse, “Plus,” whispered Cameron, “your mother would like to see you have fun.” Max’s eyes grew big and looked over to Devi who had the fake smile plastered across her face that Max has grown to fear. He knew that fake smile was a threat. A warning to behave. The horse started to walk around in the pinned-up circle.

Max's horse got closer to the side that Devi was on when a flash of light and a loud bang of thunder spooked the horses. Mr. Walter, Gwen, and Cameron ran and calmed down the three other horses, Devi didn't bother getting up to help calm Max's horse. The boy's grip on the horse tightened as the horse reared up. It then ran and jumped over the fence into the forest. Max yelled as the horse ran fast through the forest. After running for a while at its top speed. It slowed down to a trot before stopping completely. The horse shook the boy off of it, then ran off. Max landed hard on the ground he stood up and dusted off himself off. He looked around and realized he had no idea where he was at or which way the horse went. “Hello?!” he yelled only hearing his own echo. Quickly, the black haired boy pulled out David's cell phone. He tapped to bring up the phone keypad but the screen turned black almost immediately. “At least it can’t get any worse,” he said. Another flash of light happened, then a boom for thunder after a few seconds it started to downpour. Max sighed and looked at the ground, “Just. Fucking. GREAT!” he yelled. He quickly looked around to try to find some cover. Max ran around for a few minutes, feeling himself getting more lost. Finally, he found a little cliff that he could stay dry under. The boy tucked himself under the cliff and placed his back against the rock wall. ‘Someone will come for me, right? Someone has to,’ he thought to himself. Max closed his eyes as the sky lit up again and the rain got heavier. The thunder was a lot louder this time, shaking a few rocks loose from the cliff. Some small rocks on the wall behind Max shifted with the giant boom. He went to move slightly away from the wall, only to be pulled back to the wall. Max froze then pulled away again when he did the hood of his hoodie pulled back. He realized that his hood had gotten caught in the shifting rocks. Max was now lost, stuck, and had no way of contacting anyone for help. 'I'm going to be fine. Someone will find me. I'll be safe again. Right?' he said to himself. It thundered very loudly again and the sky lit up at the same time, making the young child jump. He felt his eyes start to water and his throat get tight. Max pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his head into his knees.

* * *

 

“Max!” yelled Gwen after she saw Max’s horse jump the fence and ran into the forest.   
Devi just rolled her eyes and sighed, “Mr. Walter, I believe the storm is coming in. Can you start bringing the horses back to the bus? I’m sure Cameron will help.”   
Gwen turned to Devi, “Are you not concerned about Max?!” she yelled.   
The reality TV star waved her hand dismissing Gewn's comment, “I’m sure he’s fine. That expensive horse on the other hand-“ all of a sudden the brown horse that Max was on busted through the forest. "Ah good! He came back," she said.   
The camp counselor grabbed her hair as the stress and panic started to get to her, “Alright! Campers! Back to your tents for right now!” yelled Gwen, “Even you, Nikki and Neil. No arguing!” The campers grumbled but headed toward their tents. Gwen watched as Devi, Mr. Walter and Campbell walked to the bus with the horses. The sky lit up as it started to downpour. Gwen's eye twitched, “DAVID!” yelled Gwen as she ran toward the mess hall.

Once there, she threw open the doors to the mess hall and looked around but didn’t see anyone, only a phone, an old radio, and Layla-Rae's clipboard on the tale. “David!” she yelled again out of breath. David ran out from the kitchen his hair was slightly messy and he was tying his old yellow Camp Campbell t-shirt back around his neck.   
“What is it Gwen?” he asked slightly out of breath and a little pink tint to his cheeks.   
Gwen was trying to catch her breath still, “Max- Wait? Is your shirt inside out?” she asked pointing to his chest where the dark green tree was supposed to be.   
David looked down at his shirt, “Well-Uh- What about Max?” he asked quickly changing the subject.   
Her eyes grew wide and grabbed David’s shoulders, “Max’s horse jumped over the fence and ran into the forest! When it came back Max wasn’t on it! He must have gotten bucked off! And Devi doesn’t want to look for him!” Layla-Rae kicked through the kitchen door, her shoulder-length black frizzy hair was no longer up and the top few buttons on her shirt were unbuttoned and she was a little red in the face, “What?! I knew she was up to something! Which way did he go?!” yelled Layla-Rae. Gwen's mouth was hanging open as she pointed in the general direction Max went. Layla-Rae ran out of the mess hall into the rain, grabbing her clipboard and phone on the way out.   
Gwen coughed, “So, did you guys-?”   
David stuttered trying to figure out what to say, “W-Well, we just got talking about stuff and one thing led to another-“ Gwen put her hand up stopping her co-councilor from talking anymore.   
“Just stop, let’s help Layla fine Max,” said Gwen.   
They both ran out following a frantic Layla-Rae into the forest. It didn’t take long for David and Gwen to catch up with the assistant. “This way,” said Gwen leading the two other adults toward where Max’s horse went. The three took turns yelling for Max. “Let’s split up,” said David. The two women nodded. As they separated, they all continued to yell for Max.

David looked around, trying to find any tracks or clues. The rain was falling fast, covering up any tracks that might be in the ground. “Max!” he yelled. The rain was making it hard to hear anything. He walked toward a nearby cliff, “Max!” he yelled again. That time he swears he heard a little voice calling back at him. He called again, “Max! Where are you!” This time he definitely heard a voice. He started to run toward it “Max!” he yelled one last time.   
“David! I’m over here! Under the fucking cliff!” yelled Max. David ran toward Max's voice. He skidded to a stop when he saw the blue hoodie through the rain. David ran up to the cliff.   
“Max! Max! Are you alright?” David asked as kneeled down to Max's level and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Are you hurt?”   
Max shook his head, “I’m fine David but, um- m-my hood is stuck in the rocks.”   
David nodded and kneeled down and started to wriggle the hood out of the rocks. “Layla, Gwen and I were super worried. So were the other campers,” he said as he continued to get Max free.   
The camper perked up, “Really? How worried?” he asked with skepticism in his voice. David finally pulled Max free and they both stood up, “Super worried. I think Gwen was about to have a panic attack. And Layla was about to murder Devi.”   
Max looked up to David, his shoulders slumping over, “Devi didn’t want to look for me, did she?”   
David sighed and nodded, “I’m sorry she doesn’t care, Max.”   
The boy shrugged, “I don’t care about her.” David put his hand on the camper’s shoulder.  
“I know I told you this before, but you don’t need to pretend, Max. I know it hurts that Devi doesn’t care enough. But at least you have people who do really care for you. I care about you. Gwen does too, even if she doesn't show it so much. Your friends care, Neil and Nikki."  
Max shrugged, "So? You guys are here at camp." David smiled.  
"Layla cares. A lot," he said, "She cares about you so much. It's very clear that she loves you, so so much. And she's not just here. She'll be at home waiting for you after camp is over.”   
Max smiled and gave David a quick hug around his knees. Max started to rub the back of his head, “Thank you. Can you take me back now? I want to see m-uh-Layla. Before she kills someone.”   
David smiled, “Of course Max.” As they walked back to camp they met up with Gwen and Layla-Rae, where they originally split up. “Max!” exclaimed Layla-Rae as she ran over and picked Max up into a hug. He hesitated for a second but hugged her back. “I’m so, so glad that you’re safe! You scared me so much! I was so worried.” She said. Max didn’t say anything, just smiled and hugged Layla-Rae tighter. The assistant put Max back on the ground.   
Gwen smiled, “Let’s get back.”


	9. A Promise

By the time they got back to the campgrounds the rain had stopped, but the sky was still a light gray. Everyone in the small, four-person group and were soaked by the rain. They stopped at the tents to gather the rest of the campers. Layla-Rae saw her discarded clipboard on the ground, and her phone then picked both items up. Most of the papers on the clipboard were wet but they were all still readable. “Alrighty, Campers! We are back and we have Max!” said David loudly. Everyone came out of their respective tents. Nikki saw Max first and tackled him to the ground.   
“You’re safe!” she exclaimed. Neil came over and pulled Nikki off of him, “God Nikki, get off of him!” he said. Once Neil got Nikki off of Max, he put his hand out helping his friend off the ground. All the other campers came up to Max and they all started to ask questions. For most of the questions, Max just stuck his hands in his hoodie pocket and shrugged. Layla-Rae stood back and watched as Max was bombarded by his fellow camp members. David and Layla-Rae looked at each other and smiled before they looked back to the group. Gwen got everyone’s attention, “Everyone to the mess hall. We need to end this really fucking long day.” All the campers headed to the mess hall. Neil, Nikki, and Max were behind the larger group of campers, then Gwen, David, and Layla-Rae behind them.

As they got closer to the mess hall, they could see Mr. Walter loading up the horses back into the bus. Devi was tapping on her phone while Cameron Campbell was attempting to talk to her. Devi looked up from her phone to respond to something Campbell said when she saw the group of kids, councilors, and her assistant. The woman stomped over to the group. “Guys, maybe you all should head into the mess hall,” said Gwen. All the kids started to protest. “Now!” yelled Gwen. Everyone except for Max rushed into the mess hall. Nikki stopped and reached out to grab him to bring him with but Neil stopped her and said, “He’ll be in soon.” Nikki pouted but followed Neil. Before she walked into the mess hall she stopped and spun around, “I promise to save you a pudding Max! Maybe! Only if it’s not chocolate, or vanilla, or both!” She spun around and went into the building, the doors shut behind her.

Max looked over and saw Devi getting closer with Campbell right behind. He stepped to the side, hiding behind David.   
“Mr. Campbell,” said David, “Can you go in and make sure the campers are giving Quartermaster any trouble.”   
Campbell shook his head, “I’m sorry Davey. I work for Ms. Devi now.”   
Devi looked at him with confusion on her face, “Who are you?” she asked. Campbell’s shoulders slumped over. He sighed dejectedly and walked to the mess hall and grumbled all the way there. Once he was inside, Devi turned to the four people left. “You,” she said pointing to Layla-Rae. Layla-Rae handed the clipboard to Max, who took it and held it close to his chest. She took a few steps forward. “Your job is to help _me_! That is what _I_ give you housing for and it's what  _I_ pay you for! So, if I ask you to help _me_ load up the horses so we can leave, you help Mr. Walter load up the god damn horses! And _you_ ,” Devi hissed as she pointed to Max, “I think you've been around _my_ _assistant_ too much. If you’re going to continue living with me there need to be some massive changes! If either of you thinks, you are going to continue to live with me after how _you_ treated  _me_ you can forget it! But I'm willing to forgive and forget. But I will be separating you two for a few months. That will be a good punishment. If I catch you two interacting at all in the new few months. You," she once again pointed to Layla-Rae, "will be gone. That boy has had too much freedom. And it's clear that _you_ are the cause for his awful behavior! You did a shit job raising him. You're lucky I'm here!” Layla-Rae stepped forward again sizing her up, “First, Max has not had enough freedom! You've been restricting him for the last five years he's been living with you. Second, what did he do to you today? He was placed on one of those stupid horses, which he didn't even want to ride, then when the horse was spooked it ran off. You did  _nothing_ to help him! He has done nothing to you! At all! And third, I did not do a shit job raising him. I did an amazing job raising him. I managed to raise an amazing and smart young man, who acts way too much like an adult. I did it without your help. He is  _my_ son. And we don't need your help anymore."  
Devi scoffed and rolled her eyes, “Please. You still need your mother's help. You're a single mom who had a kid when you were barely out of high school. You're just as irresponsible now than you were when you were a teenager. What a disappointment you turned out to be. I should've dumped you off somewhere before you could figure out how to get back home." Layla-Rae was caught a little off guard by this and took a step backward. David stepped in front of Layla-Rae; Max went from hiding behind David to Layla-Rae. Gwen put a hand on the assistant’s should as if to comfort her. David cleared his throat, “I think you have stayed long enough. You need to leave.”  
Devi rolled her eyes, “You can’t tell me when to leave!”  
David took a deep breath, “Max and Layla are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. They both work so hard and they clearly care about each other and, for some reason, they care about you,” he looked back at Gwen, Layla-Rae and Max the smiled, “and the fact that you treat them the way you do,” David looked back at the older woman, “Well, that just makes you a fucking bitch.” Gwen's eyes grew big and a little smile went across her face. Max had a huge smile on his face. Layla-Rae's eyes also grew big.   
Devi huffed in anger, "All of you are banned from my properties! If I see you or you," she pointed to Max and Layla-Rae, "Well, you just better wish I don’t see you again!” She then stomped onto the bus followed by her white horse. The door to the bus slams and the bodyguards and Mr. Walter got into their respective vehicles. The bus and the SUV sped out of the camp parking lot.

There were cheers from the mess hall. When the small group of four looked over they saw all of the campers watching from the windows.   
“Well,” started Gwen, “That could’ve gone better.”   
David spun around and looked at Layla-Rae, “I’m sorry if I made you lose your job, Layla. I normally am pretty level headed,” he started to scratch the back of his head. Max coughed and handed the clipboard back to Layla-Rae.   
“Yeah. You pretty much fucked that up, David,” said the child nodding. Layla-Rae laughed and took the item from him, “Max, language. Oh! Before I forget,” she started to dig through the papers on her clipboard and pulled out one sheet. “Here is Max’s camp registration paper. Fully filled out. I believe Gwen gave the paper to Devi earlier this morning. But she just handed me the piece of paper. And I felt like Max needed some type of purpose here.” She handed the piece of paper to David.   
Max rolled his eyes, “I don’t need a purpose. I’m satisfied with floating here until I go home. I mean that’s what we do through life before we die. Mind as well get used to it now.” Gwen and David sighed. Layla-Rae rolled her eyes. Mr. Walter whistled and hit the top of the beaten-up car, “You might not have a job to do,” he said, “But I still do.”

Layla-Rae let out a little laugh, “I guess that’s my cue.” Layla-Rae looked to Max and kneeled down and opened her arms. Max ran up to her and gave her a hug. He teared up a bit, “Thank you for coming, Mom,” said Max. Gwen and David gave each other a surprised look, “Mom?!” they said together. Layla-Rae nodded as she and Max separated from their hug, “It's a little bit of a long story but yes. This little guy is my son! I'm surprised you guys didn't ask anything right after Devi and I fought. I think I said something about Max being my son there. I kind of blacked-out during me yelling at her.” said Layla-Rae. Gwen shrugged and nodded.   
David also nodded, "I think I blacked out a little too," he said. Layla-Rae and Gwen laughed.   
“I'll tell you guys some more 'home life' stories one day. Home life stories about Max and me.”   
Gwen’s eyes got really big, “Hearing stories about growing up with Devi? I can't imagine how awful that was!” said Gwen with a little laugh in her voice.   
Layla-Rae laughed, “I promise. I'll fill you guys in one of these days. But it will be nice to not live with Devi anymore. I will fully be a single parent!” Layla-Rae rolled back onto her heels, “Oh fuck I’m going to be a single parent.”

David smiled, "Don't worry Layla. You've got this!" He rubbed the back of his head, “So, what are you going to do now?” Layla-Rae snapped out of her panicked thinking, “Well,” she started as she stood up, “I guess try to find a new job. Find a new place to live.” She looked at Max, “And hopefully, I can get everything set up so that you can just get settled right away. I don’t think we have had an actual home since you were little. Let’s see, we lived  with your father and his family until you were five, then I tried to move in with Devi but when I went to work she had changed all the locks, then a year and a half later she finally let me back in- ” Max smiled as his mother continued to ramble. This has been the second time all summer that David and Gwen saw Max smile in a way that wasn’t mischievous. It was a genuine, happy smile. Mr. Walter held down the horn in the car and drove the car very, very slowly out of camp. “Alright. I _really_ need to go or I will be here for the rest of the summer. Maxen,” Max and Layla-Rae gave each other one more hug, “I will send you a letter with my new address and some updates. I’ll see you after camp is over. I promise,” Layla-Rae let go of Max and step forward giving David a quick hug, “Thank you. Thank you to both of you.” she said before turning around and running to the slowly moving car. “Mr. Walter! Wait! I’m coming! Stop!” yelled Layla-Rae as she pried open the car door and jumped into the car. Layla-Rae looked out the window and waved goodbye to her son. The car sped off leaving David, Gwen, and Max in front of the mess hall.

“What was that all about?” asked Max wondering why his mom gave his camp consoler a hug. Gwen covered her mouth trying not to laugh. David looked down at Max’s paperwork, “Well, you see- Um- Wait,” he said reading over the paper one more time. “Max. Is your first name Maxen?” Max jumped around and looked at David with wide eyes. Gwen busted out in a laughing fit. “Don’t you dare ever repeat my name!” he yelled pointing at David, “You hear me, David! My name is Max! I will end you if this gets back to the gang!”  
David smiled down at Max, “Alright, Max.”  
Max nodded and crossed his arms. He then looked at Gwen who was still laughing uncontrollably. “And why are you still laughing?” asked Max. Gwen pointed at David and said, “David fucked your mom.” Max slowly turned to David who was staring at Gwen with wide eyes. “You. Did. WHAT?!”


	10. A Week Later

_A week later_

In the back of the mess hall, Gwen was pulling on Space Kid’s legs and Campbell was pulling on Space Kid’s helmet. Nurf managed to shove the platypus into Space Kid’s helmet. “How. In. The. Fucking. Hell-” yelled Gwen. Quartermaster walked around handing out letters and packages to the campers as they ate breakfast. Preston got a small package with another pair of shoes in it. Harrison got a hastily written letter from his parents. Ered got an envelope with a red TOP SECRET stamped on it. When Quartermaster got to Neil and Nikki, he handed them both letters which distracted Nikki from getting at Neil’s food again. He then handed Max a package. The boy rolled his eyes and open the package expecting his typical blue hoodie and a stamped postcard with a generic message on it, but in its place, he saw a handwritten letter in Layla-Rae’s handwriting. Under the letter was the expected dark blue hoodie. He started to read the letter:

_Hi Max!_

_I just wanted you to know that I’ll be picking up at the end of camp! I’m working with some people right now so that Devi doesn’t bother us anymore. In the meantime, I got us a house!  Well, a little townhouse. It's in a little suburb outside of the city!  There are quite a few families around here with kids about your age. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get anything this nice, in this nice of a neighborhood! The police only went to the neighbor's house two times in the past week! I think you’re going to like it. It doesn’t have much for a front yard but the backyard is ~~decnetly~~ ~~deciently~~ a good size and has a big wooden fence around it! It’s big enough for us to get a tent set up and get a small fire pit to put in. It is going to be about a two-hour drive when I come to get you from the camp bus stop. So, it’s going to be a long car ride but I don’t think you’re going to mind it since we aren’t going to Grandma Devi’s house anymore. I know you’ve probably guessed this already but I was a bit nervous about the idea of raising you by myself. I’ve always had someone helping me since you were born. It will be a very new situation for both of us but I promise to do my best and feel free to call me out when I do something wrong. I know you will. You are your father's child after all.  
Oh! I got a new job too! I will be working on the environmental board for the city! More nature, I know you’re soooo excited. (That last sentence was sarcastic by the way.) But It pays well, it requires my environmental science degree (which you call useless by the way) and I’ll get off by 4, and I will have weekends and holidays off. The school is great as well! I think it will be great for someone who hasn’t been to public school before. I know you will just love it here. I’ll be getting new furniture and other things to make it feel a bit ~~homeier~~ ~~homer~~ more like home. When I come and get you, we will figure out what color to paint your bedroom and get some more stuff for it. If you need anything before then, let me know! I’m assuming you still have David’s phone but you can also write to me as well. Don’t cause too much trouble!_

_I love you Maxen_

_~ ~~Layla~~ Mom_

_P.S.  
Say hi to David for me. Also, don’t give him too much shit._

_P.P.S.  
I know you’re probably sick of the blue hoodie but I needed something to hide candy in so that David didn’t take it from you. I guess I know where you get that troublemaker gene from!_

Max smiled as he finished the letter. David came over, “Hello Max! Who’s that package from?” he asked, “It’s been a while since you got something!”   
Max hid his smile and shook his head, “Up yours, David.” David shrugged and started to walk away.   
“David?” Max whispered. David stopped and turned around to look at the small camper. “My mom says hi” David smiled and nodded. In the back of the mess hall, a loud crash shook the room. Everyone looked and saw the platypus running around free. Gwen growled, “David! A little help!” David ran over to try to help Gwen and Campbell pin the platypus to capture it. The mascot jumped at David and bit his leg. David screamed and fell to the ground, trying to shake the animal off his legs. Almost all the children laughed and started to cheer on the platypus. Max smirked at the man wrestling with the animal. He jumped up on the table and pulled out his new candy stash, “Who needs a snack for the wrestling match! I’ve got candy!” All the children ran over to Max, traded money, personal items, and I.O.Us for the candy. Once everyone sat down, Max took out a piece of candy and sat next to two best friends. They all continued to watch the scene unfolding in front of them, cheering, shouting and encouraging so that they could skip today’s activities. Nikki looked over at Max, her mouth full of chocolate. She raised an eyebrow and pointed at Max's face, causing Neil to look over. "Max?" she asked, "Why are you smiling? You don't smile."   
Neil also raised an eyebrow, "She's right you know. What's on your mind?"  
Max shook his head, "Nothing. Just enjoying the pain David is in." Neil shrugged and Nikki jumped up pulled her two friends into a hug.  
"Awww! I am going to miss you guys after camp."  
Neil pushed her off, "We still have quite a few weeks left of camp. You'll probably be sick of us soon."  
Max shrugged, "Even if you aren't," he said, "we can always keep in contact."  
Nikki jumped up and pointed at Max, "You're right! We will be in each other's lives forever!" she yelled.  
Neil and Max smiled at their green-haired friend. "I can't wait," said Max quietly so that no one could hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will go through and edit to make it a bit easier to read. I just got a 3-month-old puppy so I haven't had the chance to fully edit it but I didn't want to keep you all waiting since it was already typed up and had basic editing! Thank you all for the Kudos, Bookmarks, comments and constructive criticisms! Thank you all for reading! I'm glad you guys enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed typing it! If anyone wants me to write anything else using these characters let me know either on here or on Tumblr: oneficonly
> 
> Thank you all again! <3


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